


The War Inside My Head

by orphan_account



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s06e21 Frame of Mind, Fluff, Multi, Not Beta Read, Recovery, self-harm (minor)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-21 07:01:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17638025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Will's experience on Tilonus IV affects him more than he would like it to, and Worf is having a hard time getting used to this new relationship.





	The War Inside My Head

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i'm a huge sucker for hurt/comfort and have been wanting to write something on this episode for a while now. i've also been consumed by the idea of riker/troi/worf lately so i just kinda... spat this out onto paper. poor worf is repressed as all hell (but it's an interesting thing to write). 
> 
> also: the self harm i put in the tags is nothing more than what occurs at the end of the episode. pretty minor.

Worf stares at Will through the window of one of the doors to Ten Forward. He’s standing just far back enough to not trigger it, watching Will silently, arms crossed and a blank look on his face. Worf has been here for the past ten minutes or so, watching will as he tears apart the set of Beverly’s play. He had heard about what happened with Will from Deanna, and guilt was gnawing at his insides. He was the one to give Will the knife that was unable to defend him.

He wonders if there’s something more he could have done to protect Will. 

“Hey,” a soft voice says from Worf’s right, and he turns to see Deanna walking toward him. He gives her a small, sad smile before turning back to watch Will. She slides up next to him and wraps an arm around his waist, rubbing his hip with one of her thumbs. Worf feels himself relax minutely. 

“I am surprised you’re still up at this hour. You should get some rest,” he says, just as quiet.

“I could say the same to you. Where is Alexander?” 

“He wished to stay in a friend’s quarters for the night. I figured it was good that he was making some friends so I let him.”

Deanna hums in understanding and looks up to stare at Will as well, a frown on her face. She sighs. “How long as he been in there?”

“According to Dr. Crusher she last spoke to him just after twenty-three hundred hours. So he has been at it for nearly three hours now. I did not know whether or not it would be... appropriate for me to disturb him.”

Deanna looks up to Worf, a small smile on her face. His face doesn’t give much away, but she can see the worry filling his eyes, the slight biting of his lip. She runs a hand along one of his arms and moves it so she can hold his hand. Worf looks down to her.

“You can the be one to go to him, you know. He cares about you a great deal, and I know you feel the same. It’s okay for you to be there for him.”

Worf makes a strange expression at that statement, something between relief and embarrassment that she could see right through him, but he knows better than to underestimate Deanna. The three of them had only started seeing each other fairly recently, and Worf had been struggling with the adjustment period, not used to being so open with others. Will and Deanna had been wonderfully patient with him, but Worf couldn’t help feeling like he was becoming more of a project and less of a boyfriend. 

Boyfriend… even the word set Worf a little on edge. But, he couldn’t dispute what Deanna was saying. He cared for them both deeply, and wanted nothing more than to see them happy. Seeing Will struggle in this way made Worf’s heart ache, but he didn’t quite know what to do about it. Or, rather, what he was allowed to do.

Deanna smiles at him encouragingly, and he sighs and nods. Her smile broadens and she tugs on his arm. 

“Come on. Let’s get him to bed. We all need the rest, especially him.”

* * *

At this point, Will has no idea what time it is. Probably nearing zero two hundred, if he had to guess. His hands are scraped and bleeding, and there’s a pretty nasty bruise forming on his torso where he had pulled a piece of metal off the wall a bit too hard and elbowed himself. The quietness of Ten Forward is almost unsettling, but the low hum of the ship and the racing thoughts in his mind make up for it.

Traveling through time and dimensions and whatever other kind of phenomena the universe could throw at the Enterprise crew was nothing compared to this. There, at least he had the rest of the crew to fall back on. They all had each others’ backs and could deal with the fallout together. 

But here? Will had no one. He had essentially been trapped within his mind, and no matter how much he explained it to the captain or his crewmates or even his closest friends, he knows that no one will truly understand and sympathize with him, with just how destructive it is to feel like reality is breaking apart at your fingertips.

Will looks down to find his hands shaking again, and slowly clenches them, grimacing as the movement reopens a wound on one of his knuckles. He stares at the blood for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking back up to the set. 

He knows he has to talk about this at some point. The brief talk with the captain and Deanna a few hours ago was a start, but it wasn’t enough. For now, though, Will channels his feelings into demolishing the set of the play, and hopes it’s enough to ward off the nightmares he’s sure to have tonight. 

Just as Will is about to take a huge kick at a piece of wood, the doors open up behind him and he spins around to see both Deanna walking in with Worf right behind her. The initial fear he felt fades as quickly as it appeared, and he smiles at the two of them.

“What are you two doing up? I figured you’d be asleep,” Will says, watching as Deanna walks up to him and drags him into a hug, her head against his chest.  He wraps his arms around her shoulders and presses a kiss to the top of her head. 

“Beverly said you were up here. We figured we’d check on you, see how you were doing,” Deanna says, looking up at him, chin on his chest.

Will smiles down at her softly, but it doesn’t quite meet his eyes. They were red with exhaustion, and realistically Will knew he should be getting to bed, but his heart still raced as he glanced up to the nearly demolished set. It unsettled him, even in its current state.

“But, I-” 

“They can finish tearing it down tomorrow. It’s okay,” Deanna says.

Will still looks conflicted, so Worf, who had been standing a few feet away from them, staring quietly, takes a deep breath and walks forward. He comes up behind Will and wraps his arms around Will’s waist, his chin on Will’s shoulder.

It’s a bold move for Worf, and despite his frazzled state of mind, Will manages to look a little shocked. Deanna just smirks in response, and Worf narrows his eyes at her. 

“It’s late, com- … Will. You need to get some rest. It will be here in the morning if you really want to finish. I will even come help, if you would like,” Worf says, his voice quiet and deep, and Will finds himself smiling. 

Will waits a few moments to respond, relishing in the touch of both of his lovers, feeling the warmth and safety of them on all sides of him. The thoughts that had been racing through his head for the last few hours have slowed to a crawl, and although he knows something needs to be done in the morning, the idea of crawling into bed and falling asleep between Deanna and Worf is more appealing than it has any right to be. He looks back over to the set, stares at it for a moment, and takes a deep, shaky breath. 

“Yeah… okay. Let’s get to bed. I’m exhausted,” he says, then he looks over his shoulder to make eye contact with Worf. “I’ll hold you to that promise of helping me.”

“I would expect nothing less.”

Will laughs and the three of them separate momentarily before heading off toward their quarters, Deanna’s hand holding Will’s, and Worf’s arm wrapped protectively around Will’s waist. Will feels safer than ever. 


End file.
